David Beckham was the early flag bearer in 1994/95 and since then Preston North End have done their fair share of business with Manchester United.
The Football League has been the starting point for hundreds of players who have gone on to achieve success in the Premier League - North End have used the loan market pretty well over the years.
2015 saw the last time Preston brought a player in on loan from Old Trafford, while Josh Harrop and Ben Pearson have gone on to become first team regulars.
Here we look at seven young Red Devils from the last 15 years, who made the move to Lancashire with PNE and what's happened for them since.
David Jones
Billy Davies brought Jones to the club in August 2004, the young midfielder having made his full first team debut for United the previous season.
Having fallen behind the likes of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, Jones arrived at Deepdale on loan until December and made 24 appearances that season, scoring three times as PNE reached the Play-Offs for the second season in a row.
His goals all came in wins - Jones scored in 4-0 and 2-1 away victories at Ipswich and Millwall, as well as chipping in with one against Hull in a 3-0 home win.
Post-PNE saw Jones move to Holland on loan with NEC Nijmegen, before he went on to enjoy a very respectable career in the EFL, playing for Wolves, Burnley & Sheffield Wednesday most notably.
Danny Welbeck
Darren Ferguson's first addition.
Welbeck's time at Preston is still remembered now by fans, which is impressive considering he was only around the place for a couple of months.
Unfortunately a knee injury, something that frustratingly would go on to crop up again and again during his career, saw his PNE loan ended early.
He scored twice for Preston, a fine chip against Ipswich and another against Barnsley, both at Deepdale.
Welbeck went to Sunderland on loan after his spell in Lancashire, before becoming a regular under Sir Alex Ferguson and winning the title in 2013. His next step was to Arsenal, a time largely disrupted by injuries, before moving on to Watford where he remains.
The forwards best goal scoring record is actually in an England shirt, he found the net 16 times in 42 games for the Three Lions.
Ritchie de Laet
De Laet came in on a month’s loan in November 2010 from the Red Devils and played only five times.
He went on to feature in Leicester’s historical Premier League title campaign in 2015 under Claudio Ranieri, the only club where he really managed to settle.
After a spell in Australia with Melbourne Victory, de Laet is now back in his home country of Belgium with Royal Antwerp.
Matty James
James was well received during his time at PNE - a young lad who showed a lot of courage and fight but also ability in the middle of the park.
He was put straight into the first team and scored on his debut against Sheffield United, one of his three goals in a Preston shirt. Darren Ferguson went back in for James the following season (10/11), where he made 12 more appearances taking his tally to 30 in total.
After returning to Old Trafford James, along with de Laet, signed for Leicester in 2012 and the midfielder became a regular for three years. He played 35 times in their 2013/14 Championship winning season, but since 2015 he has managed less than 20 professional appearances, largely down to injury.
James is still only 28.
Josh King
The final member of the trio recall brigade, following Darren Ferguson's sacking.
King was raw when he came to PNE, but certainly exciting and he scored a quite brilliant solo goal in a 5-0 League Cup win at Stockport County.
The forward has gone on to forge a highly impressive career. A key player for Bournemouth over the last few seasons in the Premier League, the Norway international is now the subject of top six interest according to Sky Sports.
He managed 10 appearances for North End and at 28, is closing in on 50 for his country.
Will Keane
If you're going to score one league goal for North End, it might as well come in an away win against Burnley, and your centre-half brother.
Keane was by no means red hot in front of goal, but he played his part and gave his all whenever selected by Simon Grayson. The forward managed two goals in total in a Preston shirt, the second coming away at Crewe in a 3-1 cup win.
A short loan spell that ended in December 2015, Keane moved on to Hull where he suffered a horrendous knee ligament injury. He's now with Ipswich under Paul Lambert, looking to climb back up the leagues.
Sam Johnstone
Johnstone had two spells at Deepdale, the first ending with a Play-Off winners medal around his neck.
After that huge success with his hometown club, Johnstone came back for a short spell in December 2015 after Jordan Pickford was recalled by Sunderland.
Johnstone only played four times before going back to United. He has since established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship, reaching back-to-back Play-Off campaigns with Aston Villa and West Brom, the latter of whom he is surely to reach the Premier League with this season.
